Friends

 We have met many new friends since we left Middlesboro almost 4 years ago. We meet thousands of people, you pull into a campground, or rest area and you meet the other campers, or the ones in campers at the rest area, or Wal-Mart, or where ever. Some of the people you never expect to see again, and some you will keep in touch with until the day you die.

 Here at "Florida SKP Resort" it is no different, we have met a lot of people here, and some we may never see again, and some we will keep in touch with through the phone, internet, or in person until we go to the great campground in the sky. Like Peg and Norm, or as I call them the "mane-e-acts", we met them at Sumter Oaks two years ago, and I expect we will keep in touch for ever.

 Escapees is a very large club, and it has some fantastic people that belong to it. Although like any club or group, it has some people that you don't care for, and then there are the ones that stick out and you will remember them forever. A few nights ago I wasn't feeling well so Marcia went to the club house to play games. She came home pretty quick, and when I ask her why she said they said all their games were for couples. It really hurt her to be excluded because I wasn't with her.

 The next night I told her we would go to the club house and play "Hoof and Mouth", or hand and foot with the skip-bo cards. I figured she and I could play or we could invite anyone else to join in. I was really impressed when Char interrupted the game she was playing with three others to invite us to join them. She went out of her way to make us feel welcome, as did Maryanne, John and Dave. They are what the escapees is all about, and some of the other escapees should take note.

 We have spent several evenings playing cards with Char, John, Maryanne, Dave, and the Mane-e-acts" here at Wauchula. As for the lot owners here at Wauchula, I find them to be friendly as long as you don't interrupt their daily routine. Like Friday night, we were playing cards near the pool, (because they lock the clubhouse at 9 PM) and we noticed a lot of the "lot owners" taking food into the clubhouse. We could see they were having a big party, and we knew we weren't invited.

 The jeep isn't going to be ready until next week, so we will be hanging out here for a few more days. That is OK with us, because Pioneer Days start the second of March, that is Wauchula's big event this time of year. We were told they have a big flea market with vendors selling almost anything and everything, and there should be a few selling RV stuff, and since we are looking for a few things for the rig we are excited about attending our first Pioneer Days. I'll tell you all about it in a future blog so keep reading.......

Solomon's Castle

The last update we were going to Solomon's Castle the following day, and we did.

Solomon's Castle is in Ona FL. Solomon moved to FL back in 1972 from Russia, he bought the land and started building his castle. Solomon recycles almost everything, the siding on his castle he gets from the local printing shop, it is the aluminum plates used to print the papers. A lot of the art work in his castle is made from junk auto parts. He uses chains to make hair for some of his statues, pistons for bodies, and the lists goes on and on.

 It was well worth the $10 they charge for the tour, although I think the tour groups could be a bit smaller than the 14 people the require to have a tour. we were lucky enough to meet Solomon in person, he is a small man in his mid 70's. His art shows how vivid his imagination is, and how talented he is with his tools, including his hands.

 Other than going to Solomons Castle we haven't done much here at SKP Resort. My back is a lot better, I can move now without cringing in pain. The Jeep Dealer is working on the jeep, we stop in to check on it every few days, and today they the right corner panel cut out and was getting ready to replace it and the piece under the tailgate. They say the jeep could possibly ready by Friday, and that would tickle us.

 Enterprise shocked us today, they called and informed us the Kia we had needed a service right away and wanted us to bring it in and exchange it. When I told him we were in wauchula he said he could have someone meet us to exchange the the Kia for a Silverado. (what we wanted in the first place) So now people here in the park think we trade cars every week.

  We did find a great place to eat, Paul's Kitchen. We ate lunch there today since we were detained by enterprise for the vehicle switch. I had a Grilled Ham and cheese (real ham) sandwich, fries, all you can eat soup, (chicken oriental today) and all the tea I could drink, (including a glass to go) for $4.95, and Marcia had the same except she had a grilled chicken sandwich for $4.95. Their other prices on the other foods was pretty good too. I'm sure we will make it back to try some of the other foods.

 I'll update again so stay tuned......

FLORDIA SKP RESORT

  We are in Zolfo Springs, just outside of Wauchula FL at the Escapees Co-Op. It is a very well maintained park, and all it is lacking is a nice hot tub. Swimming pool, pool table,clubhouse, dog run, and nice wide roads. We are in what is considered the overflow area and have water and 20 amp electric, which is a pretty good deal for $11 a night.

  We arrived last Wednesday, and after setting up I took Marcia to the ER. She had a headache, (besides me) since the gal rear ended her in Orlando last Sunday. The doc said it was muscle strains and with a few meds and a few days rest she should be AOK. And my back was feeling better after straining it changing the tires on the jet ski trailer, so things were looking up.

  Thursday we took the jeep into the dealer to get the estimate on getting it repaired. After Skip looked it over we set everything up to bring the jeep in on Monday and we would have a rental waiting on us. Marcia had worked things out with the insurance to get us a SUV because I have such a problem getting into the low sitting cars.

  Friday things went down hill in a snap, a snap in my back. As I was putting the tow bar in the MH bay because we had to empty out the jeep, I heard and felt, the snap in my back and that was it for me doing anything. This is something that I have been through before, and the doctors have me stocked up with the meds to treat it. It just takes several days of not being able to move, or moving very slowly.

 After taking the meds and lots of ice and heat pads I felt pretty good today, I think I have the back problem under control as long as I don't over do it for the next couple of weeks. So I won't be running in and marathons, or doing any weight lifting competitions for quite some time.

 We will be going to Solomons Castle tomorrow with Norm and Peg, (the Mane-e-acts). We have heard a lot about the castle and I will give a detailed report in a future blog. As for now the weather is almost perfect, plenty of sunshine and temps in the mid seventies, so I am a happy camper.

Until the next time.............

Where to start, catching up....

The first of Feb we gave the Kountry Star its first birthday party. We have had it one year, and had a pleasant evening with the couple we bought her from the day before.

 The 3rd of Feb I flew to Lexington KY where our terrific son Corey met me at the airport. Corey was my personal taxi for two days as I had three appointments in two days. The first was at the C-Pap clinic and I got a new mask, and two new hoses for my machine. The nurse wasn't too pleased with my usage, but it was broke part of the time and we were without electric for 18 days. (I'll have to wire in a small inverter for it)

 On the 4th I had the ultra-sound on my kidneys, and as I expected everything was normal. Then it was across town to see my doctor. I started going to the V A in Lexington back in 1992 and have had the same doctor from day one. 18 years in the V A system with the same doctor is incredible! I had gained too much weight since my last visit, (21 lbs) so I will be starting my reduction diet again really soon.

 The doctor wants me to have a cat-scan once a year now that it has been almost 4 years since they found the lymphoma, and the next one will be March 17th. A lot sooner than I want to be in that area, but with dad feeling poor I guess we will just "move" up that way. Life in an RV makes that easy! Everything else was good, he updated some of my prescriptions and said I'll see you in 6 months.

 Then the dreaded part came. Dad was hospitalized a couple weeks ago because he had lost a lot of blood. They gave him 3 or 4 pints of blood, kept him a few days and sent him home. Less than a week later he was back in the hospital with phenomena, (they gave him an phenomena shot after they gave him the blood). After a few days they sent him home, and that scared me.

 I have seen too many hospitals send someone home to die, and I was afraid that was the case with dad so I really was scared to see him. After seeing him I really think the loss of blood, and the phenomena right after really took its toll on pappy, but I think he will kick it. They filled him up, (with blood) and now he is resting good so he can start building himself back up.

 I really want to thank everyone for their prayers and concerns, we had many RV Friends, and many family members asking about him, and praying for him. As much as I hate FaceBook, it is really a good way to get the word out.

 Yesterday Jenelle was my taxi from Middlesboro to Knoxville, (a good taxi driver too). She had me at the airport in plenty of time for me to catch my flight to Orlando. The flight was good, but there was a slight problem afterwards. For some reason Marcia was waiting for me at the wrong airport. There are three airports in the Orlando area and it is really confusing. You really have to watch the airports around Orlando. Marcia being at the wrong airport caused an hour delay in us getting back to the rig, but everything worked out.

 To add to the confusion some lady rear-ended Marcia on the way to the airport. Nobody was hurt, well maybe the lady that rear ended her will be hurting when her mom finds out she messed up her car. The Jeep suffered minor damage to the rear, and I'll have to work on the tailgate to get it closed, but all will be OK in the end.

 Today was the Webster Flea Market, with rain all night there wasn't too many there, but we did find a few bargains. Someone needs to start selling RV supplies at the Webster flea market because I couldn't find and of the things I needed there.

 It is raining now, and the weather forecast isn't as warm as I would like so we may be moving the rig in the next couple days. You (and I) will have to stay tuned to see where we end up for the rest of the month .....